Mike Odiegwu writes that the effectiveness of the death sentence for kidnapping and allied offences in the Niger Delta states is still questionable
Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State recently became the latest governor in the Niger Delta region to approve the death sentence for kidnappers.
Pundits, however, observed that Dickson and some other governors in the oil-rich region opted for the capital punishment against kidnappers as a last resort to collapse the sprawling illegal business empire which ransom-induced abduction has become in the country.
Therefore, it has become a law that anybody convicted of kidnapping in Bayelsa State will face a death sentence.
The governor did not hesitate to sign into law the Bayelsa State Kidnapping and Allied Offences Bill 2013, which had been swiftly passed by the Kombowei Benson-led House of Assembly.
Dickson, in a desperate move to rescue the state from the shackles of notorious gangs of kidnappers, had also vowed to sign the death warrant of anybody convicted of the offence.
Addressing potential defaulters of the new law, he said, “If you are involved in any act of kidnapping, let me warn you today, don’t come near Bayelsa. We have put measures in place.
“If you try that, whether it is in sea piracy or kidnapping, we are going to get you. We will make it difficult for you to succeed and whoever you are and wherever you are operating from, we are going to get you.
“I am aware that the security forces have made several arrests and most of the young men and women who were involved in the recent kidnappings that took place are currently in custody.
“Any of them found guilty of the offence will be dealt with in accordance with the law. Today, with this bill having been signed into law, we have entered a new phase in terms of the provision of the legal infrastructure that will support our fight against kidnapping and related offences.
“It is morally indefensible for young people for whatever reason to go under the cover of darkness, armed with illegal weapons, terrorise villages and old people in their homes and then forcefully abduct and rough-handle old people and take them as an article of trade. That is morally indefensible.
“It cannot be justified under any circumstance at all. As a government, we are by this law sending out a strong message of condemnation and that we are prepared and determined to work with our able security agencies as a team to flush out such criminals from Bayelsa or wherever they are operating from.
“As I said earlier, and most people know that when I say something, I do it. I will not hesitate to sign a certificate (warrant) of execution. Anybody who doesn’t listen and commits any of the offences prohibited by this law, and who is tried and convicted, will face the penalty.”
Before signing the bill into law, the governor had blamed the worrisome dimension of kidnapping in the state on persons he described as failed politicians.
He said such politicians, “especially the arrow heads of those who have lost out in the power equation in the state, are working hard behind the scene with some forces outside the state to sponsor kidnapping of innocent citizens in the state.”
He said the aim of kidnap sponsors was to scare investors and make the state ungovernable. According to him, the attacks are also aimed at creating an impression that the present administration is incapable of securing the lives and property of citizens.
“Indeed, it is clear to all that this government has been able to turn around Bayelsa State from a haven of cultism, violence and criminality to a state that is clearly adjudged as one of the most peaceful and stable in the country.
“Let it be stated for the umpteenth time that there will be no sacred cows in the enforcement of law and order. The era of playing politics with security matters is gone for good and shall remain so.
“This is a new Bayelsa and disgruntled politicians who think they can play politics with our collective security as a people should be ready to face the full wrath of the law.
“Government will sustain its zero tolerance for violence and criminality and even more vigorously this year and beyond. Government enjoins all law-abiding Bayelsans to be vigilant and report any act of crime and criminality to law enforcement agencies,” he said.
But what Dickson did in 2013 had been in vogue in four Niger Delta states since 2009. For example, in Akwa Ibom State, Governor Godswill Akpabio signed the Internal Security and Enforcement Bill, 2009, into law on May 15, 2009.
The law, among other things, prescribes death penalty for offenders and empowers the governor to choose the venue and mode of execution of such condemned persons.
While prescribing life imprisonment for attempted kidnapping, it also states that persons convicted of aiding and or abetting the escape of a kidnapper or terrorist should be given a 21-year jail term.
Even the Akwa-Ibom law goes a step further to prescribe a 14-year jail term without an option of fine for persons convicted of causing extreme fear, threatening lives by use of letters, phone calls or other electronic methods.
In Imo State, the former governor, Ikedi Ohakim, signed the anti-kidnapping bill into law in 2009, vowing that defaulters would pay with their lives.
Similarly, the Governor of Abia State promulgated an anti-kidnapping law to save the state, which recorded the highest number of kidnapping cases in the South-East zone with most of the incidents occurring in Aba, the commercial nerve centre of the state. The law, like others, prescribes the death sentence for convicts.
In the same vein, the Anambra State House of Assembly made kidnapping a capital offence when it passed the Criminal Code (Amendment) Law on March 17, 2009. Governor Peter Obi approved the law, hoping to tame the unlawful business of kidnapping in the state.
But despite the hydra-headed nature of the problem in Delta State, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan refused to approve death as a punishment for kidnappers. He turned down his assent to the bill, which was earlier passed by the state lawmakers.
He later explained, “As a state government, we have been dealing with kidnapping. Currently, we have been able to identify some hot spots in the state, where kidnappers are trained. We have identified those areas.
“Another question is, why are we having issues with death penalty for kidnappers? There is already a death penalty in our laws. Every kidnapper is an armed robber, I believe; so, I don’t know why we are talking today of the death penalty for kidnappers. When you go to the court, the case is usually kidnapping/armed robbery. Why do I have to sign another law for kidnappers?
“Once you are a kidnapper, you are also an armed robber. The law is already there to sentence kidnappers to death. And I must say that in this state, in the last few months, our judges have been bold enough to convict many kidnappers. They are working hard to sentence more kidnappers.”
But some political observers have questioned the workability of the death sentence as a solution to kidnapping, especially in the Niger Delta region. They have also observed that no meaningful convictions had been secured by the states operating the system.
The convener of the Forum for Justice and Human Rights Defence, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi, insists that the death sentence is not the solution.
Ikimi says since the death sentence has not discouraged armed robbery in the country, it will not stop kidnapping in the affected states.
“It is not the solution to kidnapping. The only solution to kidnapping and other violent crimes is good governance. The Firearms and Armed Robbery Act prescribes death penalty for kidnappers, but since the first person was executed in the 70s, armed robbery has continued to increase,” he said.
Besides, Ikimi said Nigeria made a commitment to the Human Rights Council of the United Nations to place a moratorium on death penalty. He regretted that lawmakers in the country and members of the public had remained ignorant of the commitment.
He noted that “crimes with death penalty are more violent than crimes without such penalty,” advising that life imprisonment should be the highest punishment for kidnappers and other related offences.